Oof: Eurozone’s unemployment rate unchanged at record high

posted at 4:51 pm on January 8, 2014 by Erika Johnsen

A lot of the headlines surrounding the eurozone’s latest round of economic data are about the hopeful signs that analysts insist they’re seeing that indicate that the collective economy is making slow but steady progress in crawling its way out of recession territory — retail spending rose by one percent in November, for instance, while Ireland returned to the bond market after their recent exit from their bailout — but the 17-member bloc’s unemployment in November was unmoved from the more than twelve percent rate they have been holding for going on eight months now. But hey, at least unemployment didn’t get worse — that’s something, right? Via the NYT:

The unemployment rate in the euro zone stood at 12.1 percent, a stubbornly high level that has held since April, Eurostat, the European Union’s statistics agency, reported on Wednesday.

As the sovereign debt crisis seized the region and economic malaise set in, the jobless rose from just under 10 percent in early 2011 to the current record level. The November rate was in line with economists’ expectations.

For the full European Union, made up of 28 member states, the jobless rate was unchanged at 10.9 percent. Eurostat estimated that 26.6 million people across Europe were unemployed and seeking work, 19,000 more than in October. …

Among the lowest unemployment rates in Europe were Austria’s 4.8 percent and Germany’s 5.2 percent. Greece showed the highest rate, 27.4 percent, though it is several months behind in its reporting.

But if there are positive signs of growth and output amid an otherwise sluggish labor market, they certainly aren’t coming from the bloc’s lagging Socialist epicenter, via Bloomberg:

That’s the inescapable conclusion about newly reported data on business activity, including a survey released today by Markit Economics showing that France’s service-sector output contracted sharply in December, to a six-month low. An earlier report showed a steep drop in French manufacturing activity during December as well. …

Among the Continent’s four biggest economies, France is the only one where businesses reported declines in output and in new orders. “France now stands out as the sick man of Europe, because so many other countries have moved ahead,” Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg Bank in London, tells Bloomberg Television. “What France needs is labor-market reform—structural reform.”

Funnily enough, French President Hollande’s regime seems to be catching on to the fact that they do indeed need labor-market and structural reform rather than trifling with more damaging tax hikes, and announced after the New Year that Hollande is planning a new (but as-yet vague) approach to implement some market-driven reforms and tax cuts — but I think the rest of Europe will believe that when they see it.

The unemployment rate in the euro zone stood at 12.1 percent, a stubbornly high level that has held since April, Eurostat, the European Union’s statistics agency, reported on Wednesday.

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How strange! Bankrupt countries united by a single currency:

EUR/USD 1.3576

EUR/JPY 142.37

are suffering adverse consequences of the Quantative Easing programs of their trading partners.

That’s the inescapable conclusion about newly reported data on business activity, including a survey released today by Markit Economics showing that France’s service-sector output contracted sharply in December, to a six-month low. An earlier report showed a steep drop in French manufacturing activity during December as well.

Even stranger!!! The soak the rich and have more people do LESS work policies of a LIBERAL (Socialist is so passe) administration are sinking one country faster than the others.

With all due respect, Erika – Hot air needs to utilize
Steve Eggleston’s knowledge as a regular writer on ALL economic matters. There is so much more to these stories about which the editors of Hot Air should be trying to educate people.

If you are anxiously awaiting the arrival of the “economic collapse”, just open up your eyes and look at what is happening in Europe. The entire continent is a giant economic mess right now. Unemployment and poverty levels are setting record highs, car sales are setting record lows, and there is an ocean of bad loans and red ink everywhere you look.

The following are just a few of the statistics that show that an “economic collapse” is happening in Europe right now…

-The unemployment rate in the eurozone as a whole is still sitting at an all-time record high of 12.1 percent.

-It Italy, the unemployment rate has soared to a brand new all-time record high of 12.7 percent.

-The youth unemployment rate in Italy has jumped up to 41.6 percent.

-The level of poverty in Italy is now the highest that has ever been recorded.

-Many analysts expect major economic trouble in Italy over the next couple of years. The President of Italy is openly warning of “widespread social tension and unrest” in his nation in 2014.

-Citigroup is projecting that Italy’s debt to GDP ratio will surpass 140 percent by the year 2016.

-Citigroup is projecting that Greece’s debt to GDP ratio will surpass 200 percent by the year 2016.

-Citigroup is projecting that the unemployment rate in Greece will reach 32 percent in 2015.

-The unemployment rate in Spain is still sitting at an all-time record high of 26.7 percent.

-The youth unemployment rate in Spain is now up to 57.7 percent – even higher than in Greece.

-The percentage of bad loans in Spain has risen for eight straight months and recently hit a brand new all-time record high of 13 percent.

-The number of mortgage applications in Spain has fallen by 90 percent since the peak of the housing boom.

-The unemployment rate in France has risen for 9 quarters in a row and recently soared to a new 16 year high.

OT: I’m not a christie fan but i’m really infuriated with wolfie and cnn….they are bashing Christie for saying the SAME EXACT thing Dear leader has been saying for the past 5 years….he didn’t know what his underlings did but hey its dear leader so its ok but now that it is christie they are absolutely livid towards him….

the outrage evoked by the pundits and the left are what we have been saying the last 5 years against obama….its unstinkingbelievable…this is what they should have been saying towards Obama himself for the myriad of scandals in his 5 years….

obama gets away with not knowing what his administration did but christie didn’t know….he needs to be impeached and

obama gets away with not knowing what his administration did but christie didn’t know….

cmsinaz on January 8, 2014 at 5:32 PM

cmsinaz- you watching CNN? Joe and Mika will be crushed! ;0

Seriously, there is a difference here. It is one thing to claim that the rat-eared wonder didn’t know what was going on in the IRS. It is something entirely different when your top advisors are laughing at the way they’ve tied up traffic.

I posted on another thread that we should all be watching this “scandal.” How fat boy deals with it gives us tremendous insight into his character. So far his response has been the epic fail. A resignation and going to ground instead of talking to the press.